Recently, digital video cameras have been gaining popularity. Therefore, for example, taking of events of kindergartens with digital video cameras by parents for example is now common scene. If video taking is done by parents for example in such events, the parent often take their children mostly and, at the same time, in order to describe the events in detail, often take the scenes themselves of such events appropriately.
The moving images thus taken may be reproduced by use of a moving image reproducing apparatus in home, for example. For example, in viewing moving images taken with one's child focused, moving images in which own child is mainly included are reproduced. However, if a reproduction time is long, continuously viewing a moving image of the same subject may lower the interest of a viewer in the moving image being reproduced as the reproduction time goes by. Therefore, in order to enhance viewing interest, a method is proposed in which other images and so on associated with a currently displayed image are displayed.
For example, an image display method is proposed in which a video index (a still image) is displayed in scroll in accordance with the progress of a moving image (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No Hei 11-289517 (FIG. 7)).
According to the above-mentioned prior-art technology, still images of the past, the present, and the future relative to a moving image are displayed as a video index, so that the still images of the past, the present, and the future may be viewed along with a moving image currently displayed. Hence, for example, in viewing a moving image taken at an event carried out by the kindergarten of one's child, if one's child is displayed as the current moving image, the scene and the like of that event associated with the current moving image may be displayed as a past or future still image. In this case, the scene and the like of that event can be viewed while viewing the image of one's child, the contents of that event can easily be understood, thereby enhancing the interest of viewers.
However, in the above-mentioned prior-art technology, in the case where one's child is displayed as the current moving image, the scenes and so on of that event may not be displayed as the past or future still image, thereby displaying approximately the same contents of those of the current moving image. In such a case, it is required to maintain the viewers' interest in moving images.
So, a method is proposed in which, in order to allow, while viewing a central figure and so on subject to image taking, the appropriate understanding of situations around this central figure, each image configuring that moving image is converted on the basis of the moving information of an image taking apparatus and the converted images are sequentially synthesized for reproduction. However, if an image taking person quickly moves the image taking apparatus in the left and right directions for example, proper move information may not be detected. Also, for example, if an image taking person stops recording a taken image and then restarts recording a different scene, proper move information may not be detected before and after a scene change.
Thus, if proper move information of each image configuring that moving image cannot be detected, for example, synthesized images indicative of that moving image may not be displayed properly. It is therefore important to properly display synthesized images during the reproduction of a moving image to easily understand the contents of that moving image.
An object of the present invention is to provide, in viewing a moving image taken by an image taking apparatus, the easy understanding of the contents of that moving image.